In 2022, with an average attendance of over 21,000 per game, MLS had the fourth-highest average attendance of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, behind theNational Football League (NFL) with over 69,000 fans per game,Major League Baseball (MLB) with over 26,000 fans per game, and theCanadian Football League (CFL) with over 21,700 fans per game.[9][10] Two years later, MLS was ranked second in the most attended soccer leagues in the world, only trailing thePremier League.[11]
The MLS regular season typically starts in late February or early March and runs through mid-October, with each team playing 34 games;[12][13] the team with the best record is awarded theSupporters' Shield. Eighteen teams compete in the postseasonMLS Cup playoffs in late October and November, culminating in the league's championship game,MLS Cup.[14] Instead of operating as an association of independently owned clubs, MLS is a single entity in which each team is owned by the league and individually operated by the league's investors.[15] The league has a fixed membership like most sports leagues in the United States and Canada and Mexico'sLiga MX which makes it one of the few soccer leagues that does not use apromotion and relegation process.[16]
TheLA Galaxy have the most MLS Cups, with six. They are tied withD.C. United for most Supporters' Shields, with four each.
Major League Soccer's regular season runs from late February or early March to October. Teams are geographically divided into theEastern andWestern Conferences, playing 34 games in an unbalanced schedule. With 30 teams in 2025, each team plays two games (home and away) against the others teams within their conference, and six games against teams from the opposite conference. The 2020 season was the first season in league history in which teams did not play against every other team in the league.[17] At the end of the regular season, the team with the highest point total is awarded theSupporters' Shield and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.[18]
Teams break for the annualAll-Star Game midway through the season, an exhibition game containing the league's best players. The format of the All-Star Game has changed several times since the league's inception; 2020 was the first year in which the MLS All-Stars were planned to play against an all-star team from Mexico'sLiga MX, before the event's cancellation due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[19][20][21] Since 2015, the final matchday of the season has been branded as "Decision Day" and has almost all matches played between intra-conference teams kicking off simultaneously during two windows—one for each conference.[22]
Unlike most major soccer leagues around the world, but similar to other leagues in the Americas,[23] the MLS regular season is followed by a postseason knockout tournament to determine the league champion.[24] As of 2023[update], eighteen teams participate in theMLS Cup Playoffs in October and November, which concludes with theMLS Cup championship game in early December.[25] The 2023 playoff format includes a pair of single-elimination play-in matches for the two lowest-ranked teams in each conference ahead of abest-of-three round; the round is followed by more single-elimination rounds that lead up to the MLS Cup final.[26]
Major League Soccer's spring-to-fall schedule results in scheduling conflicts with theFIFA calendar and with summertime international tournaments such as theWorld Cup and theGold Cup,[27] causing some players to miss league matches.[28] While MLS has looked into changing to a fall-to-spring format, there are no current plans to do so. Were the league to change its schedule, a winter break would be necessary to accommodate teams located in harsh winter climates.[29][30][31] It would also have to compete with the popularity and media presence of theNational Football League (NFL),National Basketball Association (NBA), andNational Hockey League (NHL), which all run on fall-to-spring schedules.[31]
MLS teams also play in other international and domestic competitions. Each season, up to ten MLS teams play in theCONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC) against other clubs from theCONCACAF region. Four MLS teams qualify based on regular-season results from the previous year: theSupporters' Shield champion, the team with the highest point total from the opposite conference, and the next two clubs in the Supporters' Shield rankings. The fifth MLS team to qualify is the reigningMLS Cup champion. An additional U.S.-based MLS team can qualify by winning theU.S. Open Cup.[32] Starting in 2024, the league will send eight teams to participate in the U.S. Open Cup instead of every U.S.-based club, withMLS Next Pro teams as representatives for some teams. MLS had announced their intention to remove itself from the tournament entirely,[33] but reached a compromise with U.S. Soccer to send representatives from clubs that were not participating in the Champions Cup, with the exception of the defending Open Cup champions.[34][35] The last three teams to qualify are the champion, runner-up, and third-place finisher of theLeagues Cup.[36]Montreal,Toronto, andVancouver compete against other Canadian sides in theCanadian Championship for the one CONCACAF Champions Cup berth allocated to Canada.[37] All three Canadian clubs may also qualify through MLS or the Leagues Cup. If a team qualifies through multiple berths, or they are taken by a Canadian MLS team, the berth is reallocated to the next best team in the overall table. If the U.S. Open Cup winner qualifies through multiple methods, the runner-up fills the slot; should the runner-up qualify, the next best team in the overall table earns the slot. If the Leagues Cup champion wins the MLS Cup, the MLS Cup runner-up qualifies to the round of 16; should a Leagues Cup slot already qualify, MLS is awarded with one additional slot given to the next best non-qualified team in the overall table.[38]Seattle Sounders FC became the first MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions Cup under the competition's updated format in2022.[39][40]
Since 2018, the reigning MLS Cup champion plays in theCampeones Cup, aSuper Cup-style single game against theCampeón de Campeones fromLiga MX, hosted by the MLS team in September.[41] The inaugural edition sawTigres UANL defeat Toronto FC at BMO Field in Toronto in 2018.[42]
Another inter-league competition with Liga MX, theLeagues Cup, was established in 2019.[43] The 2020 edition of the tournament was originally planned to pair eight MLS clubs against eight Liga MX clubs in a single-elimination tournament hosted in the United States, reviving an inter-league rivalry that previously took place in the now-defunctNorth American Superliga, before its cancelation.[21] Beginning with the 2023 edition all MLS and Liga MX teams participated in the competition, which functions as the regional cup for theNorth American zone ofCONCACAF.[44] As of the 2025 edition, only 18 MLS clubs will take part.[45]
The 30 clubs of Major League Soccer are divided between theEastern andWestern conferences. MLS has regularly expanded since the 2005 season, most recently with the addition ofSan Diego FC in 2025.[46]
The league features numerousrivalry cups that are contested by two or more teams, quite often geographic rivals.[47] Each trophy is awarded to the team with the best record in matches during the regular season involving the participating teams. The concept is comparable torivalry trophies played for by Americancollege football teams.[48]
MLS features some of the longest travel distances for a domestic soccer league, withVancouver Whitecaps FC andInter Miami CF the furthest apart teams at 2,801 miles (4,508 km).[49] During the2018 season, the team with the shortest distance traveled over the entire regular schedule wasToronto FC at 25,891 miles (41,668 km), while the longest was Vancouver at 51,178 miles (82,363 km).[50]
Major League Soccer is the most recent of a series of men's premier professional national soccer leagues established in the United States and Canada. The predecessor of MLS was theNorth American Soccer League (NASL), which existed from 1968 until 1984.[4] The United States did not have a truly national top-flight league withFIFA-sanctioning until the creation of the NASL. The first league to have U.S. and Canadian professional clubs, the NASL struggled until the mid-1970s when theNew York Cosmos, the league's most prominent team, signed a number of the world's best players includingPelé andFranz Beckenbauer.[51] Pelé's arrival attracted other well-known international stars to the league includingJohan Cruyff,Gerd Müller,Eusébio,Bobby Moore, andGeorge Best. Despite dramatic increases in attendance (with some matches drawing over 70,000 fans such asSoccer Bowl '78, the highest attendance to date for any club soccer championship in the United States) over-expansion,the economic recession of the early 1980s, and disputes with the players union ultimately led to the collapse of the NASL following the 1984 season, leaving the United States without a top-level soccer league until MLS.[52][53]
In 1988, in exchange for FIFA awarding the right to host the1994 World Cup,U.S. Soccer promised to establish a Division 1 professional soccer league.[54] In 1993, U.S. Soccer selected Major League Professional Soccer (the precursor to MLS) as the exclusive Division 1 professional soccer league.[54] Major League Soccer was officially formed in February 1995 as alimited liability company.[54]
Tab Ramos was the first player signed by MLS, on January 3, 1995, and was assigned to theNew York/New Jersey MetroStars.[55] MLS began play in1996 with ten teams. The first game was held on April 6, 1996, as theSan Jose Clash defeatedD.C. United in front of 31,000 fans atSpartan Stadium in San Jose in a game broadcast on ESPN.[56] The league had generated some buzz by managing to lure some marquee players from the 1994 World Cup to play in MLS—including U.S. stars such asAlexi Lalas,Tony Meola andEric Wynalda, and foreign players such as Mexico'sJorge Campos and Colombia'sCarlos Valderrama.[57]D.C. United won theMLS Cup in three of the league's first four seasons.[58] The league added its first two expansion teams in1998—theMiami Fusion and theChicago Fire; the Chicago Fire won its first title in its inaugural season.[59]
After its first season, MLS suffered from a decline in attendance.[60] The league's low attendance was all the more apparent in light of the fact that eight of the original ten teams played in largeAmerican football stadiums.[59]One aspect that had alienated fans was that MLS experimented with rules deviations in its early years in an attempt to "Americanize" the sport. The league implemented the use ofshootouts to resolve tie games. MLS also used a countdown clock and halves ended when the clock reached 0:00. The league realized that the rule changes had alienated some traditional soccer fans while failing to draw new American sports fans, and the shootout and countdown clock were eliminated after the1999 season.[61]The league's quality was cast into doubt when theU.S. men's national team, which was made up largely of MLS players, finished in last place out of the 32 teams at the1998 World Cup.[59]
The league lost an estimated $250 million during its first five years, and more than $350 million between its founding and 2004.[62][63][64][65]The league's financial problems led to CommissionerDoug Logan being replaced byDon Garber, a former NFL executive, in August 1999.[66] Following decreased attendance and increased losses by late 2001, league officials planned to fold but were able to secure new financing from ownersLamar Hunt,Philip Anschutz, and theKraft family to take on more teams.[67] MLS announced in January 2002 that it had decided to contract theTampa Bay Mutiny andMiami Fusion, leaving the league with ten teams.[68]
Despite the financial problems, though, MLS did have some accomplishments that would set the stage for the league's resurgence. Columbus Crew Stadium, now known asHistoric Crew Stadium, was built in 1999, becoming MLS's firstsoccer-specific stadium.[69] This began a trend among MLS teams to construct their own venues instead of leasing American football stadiums, where they would not be able to generate revenue from other events.[70][71] In 2000, the league won an antitrust lawsuit,Fraser v. Major League Soccer, that the players had filed in 1996. The court ruled that MLS's policy of centrally contracting players and limiting player salaries through a salary cap and other restrictions were a legal method for the league to maintain solvency and competitive parity since MLS was a single entity and therefore incapable of conspiring with itself.[72]
MLS underwent a transition in the years leading up to the2006 World Cup. After marketing itself on the talents of American players, the league lost some of its homegrown stars to prominent European leagues. For example,Tim Howard was transferred toManchester United for $4 million in one of the most lucrative contract deals in league history.[75][76] Many more American players did make an impact in MLS. In 2005,Jason Kreis became the first player to score 100 career MLS goals.[77]
The league's financial stabilization plan included teams moving out of large American football stadiums and into soccer-specific stadiums.[68] From 2003 to 2008, the league oversaw the construction of six additional soccer-specific stadiums, largely funded by owners such asLamar Hunt andPhil Anschutz, so that by the end of 2008, a majority of teams were now in soccer-specific stadiums.[59]
It was also in this era that MLS expanded for the first time since 1998.Real Salt Lake andChivas USA began play in2005, with Chivas USA becoming the second club in Los Angeles.[78] By 2006 theSan Jose Earthquakes owners, players and a few coaches moved to Texas to become the expansionHouston Dynamo, after failing to build a stadium in San Jose. The Dynamo became an expansion team, leaving their history behind for a new San Jose ownership group that formed in 2007.[79]
The 2010 season also brought the opening of the New York Red Bulls' soccer-specific stadium,Red Bull Arena.
In 2007, the league expanded beyond the United States' borders into Canada with theToronto FC expansion team.[80] Major League Soccer took steps to further raise the level of play by adopting theDesignated Player Rule, which helped bring international stars into the league.[81]The2007 season witnessed the MLS debut ofDavid Beckham. Beckham's signing had been seen as a coup for American soccer, and was made possible by the Designated Player Rule. Players such asCuauhtémoc Blanco (Chicago Fire) andJuan Pablo Ángel (New York Red Bulls), are some of the first Designated Players who made major contributions to their clubs.[82]The departures ofClint Dempsey andJozy Altidore, coupled with the return of former U.S. national team starsClaudio Reyna andBrian McBride, highlighted the exchange of top prospects to Europe for experienced veterans to MLS.[83]
By 2008, San Jose had returned to the league under new ownership, and in 2009, the expansion sideSeattle Sounders FC began play in MLS.[80] The Sounders set a new average attendance record for the league, with 30,943 spectators per match, and were the first expansion team to qualify for the playoffs since 1998.[84] The 2010 season ushered in an expansion franchise in thePhiladelphia Union and their new PPL Park stadium (now known asSubaru Park).[80] The 2010 season also brought the opening of the New York Red Bulls' soccer-specific stadium,Red Bull Arena, and the debut of French strikerThierry Henry.[85]
The 2011 season brought further expansion with the addition of theVancouver Whitecaps FC, the second Canadian MLS franchise, and thePortland Timbers.[86] Real Salt Lake reached the finals of the2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League.[87]During the 2011 season, the Galaxy signed another international star inRepublic of Ireland all-time leading goalscorerRobbie Keane.[88] MLS drew an average attendance of 17,872 in 2011, higher than the average attendances of the NBA and NHL.[89] In 2012, theMontreal Impact became the league's 19th franchise and the third in Canada, and made their home debut in front of a crowd of 58,912,[90] while theNew York Red Bulls addedAustralian all-time leading goalscorerTim Cahill.
In 2012, with an average attendance of over 18,000 per game, MLS had the third highest average attendance of any sports league in the U.S. after theNational Football League (NFL) andMajor League Baseball (MLB),[91] and was the seventh highest attended professional soccer league worldwide as of 2013[update].[92]
In 2013, the league implemented its "Core Players" initiative, allowing teams to retain key players using retention funds instead of losing the players to foreign leagues.[95] Among the first high-profile players re-signed in 2013 using retention funds were U.S. national team regularsGraham Zusi andMatt Besler.Beginning in summer of 2013 and continuing in the run up to the 2014 World Cup, MLS began signing U.S. stars based abroad, includingClint Dempsey,Jermaine Jones, andMichael Bradley from Europe; andDaMarcus Beasley from Mexico'sLiga MX.[96] By the 2014 season, fifteen of the nineteenMLS head coaches had previously played in MLS.[97] By 2013, the league's popularity had increased to the point where MLS was as popular as Major League Baseball among 12- to 17-year-olds, as reported by the 2013 Luker on Trends ESPN poll, having jumped in popularity since the 2010 World Cup.[98][99]
In 2014, the league announcedAtlanta United FC as the 22nd team to start playing in 2017.[100] Even though New York City FC and Orlando City were not set to begin play until 2015, each team made headlines during the summer 2014 transfer window by announcing their first Designated Players—Spain's leading scorerDavid Villa andChelsea's leading scorerFrank Lampard to New York, andBallon d'Or winnerKaká to Orlando.[101] The 2014 World Cup featured 21 MLS players onWorld Cup rosters and a record 11 MLS players playing for foreign teams—including players from traditional powerhouses Brazil (Júlio César) and Spain (David Villa); in theU.S. v. Germany match the U.S. fielded a team with seven MLS starters.[102]
On September 18, 2014, MLS unveiled their new logo as part of a branding initiative. In addition to the new crest logo, MLS teams display versions in their own colors on their jerseys.[103]Chivas USA folded following the 2014 season, whileNew York City FC andOrlando City SC joined the league in 2015 as the 19th and 20th teams.[104] Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo moved from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference in 2015 to make two 10-team conferences.[104][105]
In April 2016, the league's commissioner Don Garber reiterated the intention of the league to expand to 28 teams, with the next round of expansion "likely happening in 2020".[109][110] In December 2016, he updated the expansion plans stating that the league will look to approve the 25th and 26th teams in 2017 and to start play in 2020.[111] In January 2017, the league received bids from 12 ownership groups.[112]
In July 2017, it was reported that Major League Soccer had rejected an offer byMP & Silva to acquire all television rights to the league following the conclusion of its current contracts with Fox, ESPN, and Univision, where MP & Silva insisted that the deal would be conditional on Major League Soccer adopting a promotion and relegation system. The league stated that it rejected the offer due to the exclusive periods that the current rightsholders have to negotiate extensions to their contracts. Additionally, media noted that Major League Soccer has long-opposed the adoption of promotion and relegation, continuing to utilize the fixed, franchise-based model used in other U.S. sports leagues.[16][113] Furthermore, MP & Silva founderRiccardo Silva also ownedMiami FC of theNASL, which stood to benefit from such a promotion and relegation system.[113]
In October 2017,Columbus Crew ownerAnthony Precourt announced plans to move the franchise toAustin, Texas by 2019.[114] The announcement spawned a league-wide backlash and legal action against the league by the Ohio state government.[115] On August 15, 2018, the Austin City Council voted to approve an agreement with Precourt to move Crew SC to Austin, and on August 22, 2018, the club's new name,Austin FC, was announced.[116] After negotiations between Precourt andJimmy Haslam, owner of theCleveland Browns, were announced, MLS made it clear that Austin would receive an expansion team only after a deal to sell Columbus to a local buyer had completed.[117] The purchase of Crew SC by Haslam's group was finalized in late December 2018,[118] and on January 15, 2019, Austin FC was officially announced as a 2021 MLS entry.[119]
MLS announced on December 20, 2017, that it would be awarding an expansion franchise toNashville, Tennessee, to play in a yet-to-be-built 27,000-seat soccer-specific stadium,Nashville Fairgrounds Stadium, and would join MLS in 2020.[120] The management of the Nashville franchise announced in February 2019 that the MLS side would assume theNashville SC name then in use by the city'sUSL Championship team.[121]
FC Cincinnati's inaugural MLS home match drew a 32,250 sellout crowd.
On January 29, 2018, MLS awardedMiami an expansion team, led byDavid Beckham.Inter Miami CF started MLS play on March 1, 2020, and plan on opening the proposed 25,000-seatstadium sometime in the near future.[122] An expansion team was awarded toCincinnati, Ohio on May 29, 2018, to the ownership group of USL'sFC Cincinnati. The team, which assumed the existing FC Cincinnati name, started MLS play in 2019 and moved to the new 26,000-seatTQL Stadium in 2021.[123]
The league planned to expand to 30 teams with the addition of Austin FC in 2021,[119] Charlotte in 2022,[124] and Sacramento and St. Louis in 2023; however, this was reduced to 29 afterSacramento Republic FC's bid was placed on indefinite hold.[125][126][127][128] CommissionerDon Garber has suggested that another round of expansion could lead to 32 teams in MLS.[129]
In 2022, the league signed a $2.5 billion, 10-year deal withApple Inc. that madeApple TV the primary broadcaster for all MLS games beginning in 2023. The agreement also included MLS and Leagues Cup games shared across the streaming service.[134] Subscriptions were provided for free forseason ticket holders of clubs and certain matches were made free to all users. The schedule was adjusted as a result of the deal, with start times generally at 7:30 p.m. local time on Wednesdays and Saturdays rather than staggered across the matchday.[135]
In May 2023, the league announced it would expand to 30 teams with the addition ofSan Diego FC for the 2025 season.[136] The2024 season broke attendance records, with an average of 23,240 per match and over 11 million total spectators. The presence ofLionel Messi and other star players was credited with contributing to the record crowds, which included several matches moved to larger venues.[137]
In 2005, Toronto FC's ownership paid $10 million (about $16 million in 2024)[138] to join the league in 2007; San Jose paid $20 million the next year, and the fee had risen to $30 million when Sounders FC paid the fee in 2007 to join the league in 2009.[139] In 2013, New York City FC agreed to pay a record $100 million expansion fee for the right to join MLS in 2015.[140] This record was surpassed by the ownership groups of FC Cincinnati and Nashville SC, which each paid $150 million to join MLS 2019 and 2020, respectively.[141] Despite being announced in January 2018,Inter Miami CF only paid a $25 million expansion fee due to a clause in part-ownerDavid Beckham's original playing contract signed in 2007.[142] $150 million was paid as an effective entrance fee by a group that boughtColumbus Crew in 2018, which led tothat team's previous operator receiving rights to Austin FC, which joined MLS in 2021.[143][144] In 2019, Charlotte FC agreed to a reported $325 million expansion fee.[145] The most recent expansion team, San Diego FC paid a record $500 million fee in 2023.[136]
As of the 2024 season, 32 different clubs have competed in the league, with 15 having won at least oneMLS Cup, and 16 winning at least oneSupporters' Shield.[146] The two trophies have been won by the same club in the same year on eight occasions (two clubs have accomplished the feat twice).[147] Of these teams only one,Toronto FC have also won their national elite knockout tournament (In Toronto FC's case, theCanadian Championship) in the same year for a domestictreble.
Major League Soccer operates under a single-entity structure in which teams and player contracts are centrally owned by the league.[15][148][149] Each team has an investor-operator that is a shareholder in the league.[150] In order to control costs, MLS shares revenues and holds players contracts instead of players contracting with individual teams. InFraser v. Major League Soccer, a lawsuit filed in 1996 and decided in 2002, the league won a legal battle with its players in which the court ruled that MLS was a single entity that can lawfully centrally contract for player services.[15] The court also ruled that even absent theircollective bargaining agreement, players could opt to play in other leagues if they were unsatisfied.[15]
Having multiple clubs operated by a single investor was a necessity in the league's first ten years.[151] At one time,Phil Anschutz's AEG operated six MLS franchises andLamar Hunt's Hunt Sports operated three franchises. In order to attract additional investors, in 2002 the league announced changes to the operating agreement between the league and its teams to improve team revenues and increase the incentives to be an individual club operator.[152] These changes included granting operators the rights to a certain number of players they develop through their club's academy system each year, sharing the profits ofSoccer United Marketing, and being able to sell individual club jersey sponsorships.[152]
As MLS appeared to be on the brink of overall profitability in 2006 and developed significant expansion plans, MLS announced that it wanted each club to have a distinct operator.[153] The league has attracted new investors that have injected more money into the league.[7] Examples includeRed Bull's purchase of the MetroStars from AEG in 2006 for over $100 million.[151][154] For the 2014 season, the league assumed control of the former Chivas USA club, which had suffered from mismanagement and poor financial results under its individual operator relationship.[155][7] The league eventually dissolved the team,[156] in favor of awarding rights to a second soccer club in the Los Angeles area to a new investor group on October 30, 2014.[157]
The league now has 30 investor-operators for its 30 current clubs, with no member of any club's investor group having a stake in that of any other club. Since December 2015, when AEG sold its remaining 50% interest in the Houston Dynamo, the former multiple-team operators AEG and Hunt Sports, with the LA Galaxy and FC Dallas respectively, now only control one franchise.[158][159]
Don Garber has been the commissioner of Major League Soccer since 1999, serving as the league's chief executive. The league's first commissioner wasDoug Logan, who served in the role from 1995 to 1999.[160][161]
Mark Abbott, a former MLS business partner, has served as the league's president and Deputy Commissioner since 2006.[162]
In 2016, the average salary for MLS players was $373,094,[163] lower than the average salaries in England's second-tierEFL Championship ($420,000 in 2015),[164] the Netherlands'Eredivisie ($445,000),[165] or Mexico'sLiga MX ($418,000 in 2015).[166] The league's minimum player salary increased in 2017 to $65,000 for most players, and roster players #25–30 saw their minimum salary increased to $53,000.[167][168]
MLS salaries are limited by asalary cap, which MLS has had in place since the league's inception in 1996. The purpose of the salary cap is to prevent the team's owners from unsustainable spending on player salaries and to prevent a competitive imbalance among teams.[54] The salary cap survived a legal challenge by the players in theFraser v. Major League Soccer lawsuit. The 2017 salary cap increased to $3.845 million per team.[167][168] Each team is allowed up to 30 players on its first team roster.[169] All 30 players are eligible for selection to each 18-player game-day squad during the regular season and playoffs.
Teams may augment their squads by signing players from other leagues. MLS has twotransfer windows—the primary pre-season transfer window lasts three months from mid February until mid May, and the secondary mid season transfer window runs one month from early July to early August.[168] When an MLS club sells one of its players overseas, the club and the league split the transfer revenues, with the club retaining from 33% to 75% depending on the player's status and tenure.[170]MLS teams have a limited number ofinternational roster slots that they can use to sign non-domestic players. However, MLS teams often obtain green cards for their non-domestic players in order to qualify them for domestic status and thus free up international roster slots.[171] In 2015, 49% of MLS players were born outside of the U.S. and Canada, with players from 58 countries represented.[172][173]
MLS has a set ofpool goalkeepers who are signed to a contract with the league and are loaned to teams during emergencies in which they are missing a goalkeeper due to injuries or suspensions.[174] The pool goalkeeper trains with an MLS club or an affiliated team when not assigned to a team; some pool goalkeepers, includingTim Melia, have gone on to be signed to permanent contract with their assigned teams.[175] In the past, when rosters were smaller, there were multiple goalkeepers signed to the pool, however, in recent years only one or two keepers are signed as team rosters are much larger.[176]
MLS has also introduced various initiatives and rules intended to improve quality of players while still maintaining the salary cap. Rules concerning Designated Players and allocation money allow for additional wage spending that is exempt from the salary cap. These initiatives have brought about an increase in on-field competition.[177][unreliable source?]
Thedesignated player (DP) rule allows teams to sign a limited number of players whose salary exceeds the maximum cap; in 2017, each DP player only counted as $480,625 (the maximum non-DP salary) against the cap. Instituted in 2007, England'sDavid Beckham was the first signing under the DP rule.[81] The DP rule has led to large income inequality in MLS with top DPs earning as much as 180 times more than a player earning the league minimum.[178] In the 2013 season, 21% of the league's wage spending went to just five players; this stretched to 29% on the top 6 players in the 2014 season.[179][180][unreliable source?]
The league's "Core Players" initiative allows teams to re-sign players using retention funds that do not count against the salary cap.[95] Retention funds were implemented in 2013 as a mechanism for MLS to retain key players; among the first high-profile players re-signed using retention funds were U.S. national team regularsGraham Zusi andMatt Besler.[95] MLS teams can also obtainallocation money, which is money that the team can use on player salaries that does not count against the cap, and teams can earn allocation money in several ways, such as from the transfer fees earned by selling players to teams in other leagues.[181] MLS teams can also use Targeted Allocation Money (often referred to as TAM), an initiative announced in 2015. Teams can use TAM funds to attract high-profile players by "buying down" contracts of players to below the Designated Player level.[182] High-profile players for which TAM funds were used includeHector Villalba,Zlatan Ibrahimović andGiorgio Chiellini.
MLS has introduced various initiatives and rules intended to develop young players. Rules concerning Generation Adidas players and home grown players provide incentives for clubs to develop and retain young players.[177]
MLS has required all of its teams to operate youth development programs since 2008.[183] MLS roster rules allow teams to sign an unlimited number of players straight from their academies and bypassing the draft process.[168] There is also supplementary salary budget made by MLS only for homegrown players that are registered using senior roster slots called homegrown player funds.[184] One of the most prominent and lucrative examples of success in "home-grown" development wasJozy Altidore, who rose to prominence as a teenager in MLS before his record transfer fee $10 million move to Villarreal in Spain in 2008.[185] The various MLS teams' development academies play matches in aU.S. Soccer developmental league against youth academies from other leagues such as theNorth American Soccer League (NASL), which had been a Division II league prior to 2018, and USL Pro, originally a Division III league but now the Division IIUSL Championship.[186]
The league operates aGeneration Adidas program, which is a joint venture between MLS and U.S. Soccer that encourages young American players to enter MLS.[187] The Generation Adidas program has been in place since 1997, and has introduced players such asLandon Donovan,Clint Dempsey,Tim Howard andMichael Bradley into MLS. Players under the Home Grown Player rule are signed to Generation Adidas contracts,[168] all players on Generation Adidas contracts are "off budget players" and their salaries do not count against the cap.
MLS has operated reserve leagues, which give playing time to players who were not starters for their MLS teams, during two different periods. TheMLS Reserve League was formed in 2005, and operated through 2014 (with the exception of the 2009 & 2010 seasons).[188] MLS began integrating its Reserve League with the league then known as USL Pro in 2013,[189] and after the 2014 season folded the Reserve League, with MLS then requiring all teams to either affiliate with a USL team or field their own reserve side in that league. However, this requirement was never strictly enforced, and MLS eventually relaunched its reserve league in 2022 under the banner ofMLS Next Pro. In the inaugural 2022 season, 19 of the league's then-current clubs, plus future clubSt. Louis City SC, fielded reserve sides in Next Pro. In the 2023 season, the only MLS teams that will not field Next Pro sides areCF Montréal andD.C. United.[190][191]
Following the folding of theDevelopment Academy,[192] MLS announced its own development league in 2020.[193] It includes all of the MLS team academies as well as 95 clubs across the country; many of which were a part of the Development Academy.[194]
Since 1999, the league has overseen the construction of twelve stadiums specifically designed for soccer. The development of soccer-specific stadiums owned by the teams has generated a better gameday experience for the fans.[195] The soccer-specific stadiums have yielded positive financial results as teams were no longer required to pay to rent out facilities and gained control over revenue streams such as concessions, parking, naming rights, and the ability to host non-MLS events.[7][195] Several teams have doubled their season tickets following the team's move into a soccer-specific stadium.[196] The establishment of soccer-specific stadiums is considered the key to the league and the ability of teams to turn a profit.[197] In 2006, Tim Leiweke, then CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, described the proliferation of soccer-specific stadiums as the turning point for MLS.[197]
Columbus Crew owner Lamar Hunt started this trend in 1999 by constructing Columbus Crew Stadium, now known asHistoric Crew Stadium, as MLS's first soccer-specific stadium.[69] The Los Angeles Galaxy followed four years later with the opening of the Home Depot Center, nowDignity Health Sports Park, in 2003.[198] FC Dallas opened Pizza Hut Park, nowToyota Stadium, in 2005, and the Chicago Fire began playing their home games in Toyota Park, nowSeatGeek Stadium, in 2006. The 2007 season brought the opening ofDick's Sporting Goods Park for the Colorado Rapids andBMO Field for Toronto FC.[199]
Near the end of the 2008 season, Rio Tinto Stadium (now known asAmerica First Field) became the home of Real Salt Lake, which meant that for the first time in MLS history a majority of MLS's teams (8 out of 14) played in soccer-specific stadiums.[200]Red Bull Arena, the new home of the New York Red Bulls opened for the start of the 2010 season,[150] and the Philadelphia Union opened PPL Park, nowSubaru Park, in June 2010, midway through their inaugural season.[201]
The following season, in 2011, the Portland Timbers made their MLS debut in a newly renovated Jeld-Wen Field, now renamedProvidence Park, which was originally a multi-purpose venue but turned into a soccer-specific facility.[202] Also in 2011, Sporting Kansas City moved to new Livestrong Sporting Park, nowChildren's Mercy Park.[203] The Houston Dynamo relocated to their new home at BBVA Compass Stadium, nowShell Energy Stadium, in 2012.[150] In the same year, the Montreal Impact joined the league in an expandedStade Saputo, which reopened in June 2012, when renovations pushed the seating capacity to over 20,000. The Impact has usedOlympic Stadium for early season matches and for games that require a larger capacity.[204] The San Jose Earthquakes, who had played atBuck Shaw Stadium from 2008 until 2014, opened their new Avaya Stadium (nowPayPal Park) before the 2015 season.[205] Orlando City SC intended to begin constructing its soccer-specific stadium, now known asExploria Stadium, in 2014 to be completed in 2015.[206] Delays caused by changes to the stadium plans pushed back the new venue's opening, first to late 2016 and finally to the start of the 2017 season.[207] Orlando City played at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, nowCamping World Stadium, while awaiting the construction of their new venue through the 2016 season. Exploria Stadium hosted its first MLS match on March 5, 2017, against New York City FC as Orlando City Stadium.
The development of additional MLS stadiums has continued to progress. D.C. United had played their home games at former NFL and Major League Baseball venueRFK Stadium. In 2013, D.C. United announced the signing of a public-private partnership term sheet to build a new soccer stadium in Washington, D.C., and a final deal was reached in late 2014. In late February 2017, D.C. United finally broke ground on their new stadium,Audi Field.[208] After 21 years of playing at RFK Stadium, D.C. United played their first game at Audi Field in July 2018.
Two teams have announced their desire to build a soccer-specific stadium, although these teams have not finalized the stadium site and received all necessary government approvals. New York City FC play home games atYankee Stadium, a Major League Baseball venue, although they intend to move into a soccer-specific stadium in the future. The New England Revolution play home games atGillette Stadium which is an NFL Stadium also owned by the Revolution's owner,Robert Kraft. The team are currently in discussion with the City ofBoston regarding a potential soccer-specific stadium inSouth Boston.[209]
Several remaining clubs play in stadiums not originally built for MLS and have not announced plans to move. The Seattle Sounders FC play atLumen Field, a dual-purpose facility used for both American football and soccer. The Vancouver Whitecaps FC joined the league with Portland in 2011 and temporarily held matches atEmpire Field before moving into the refurbishedBC Place in October 2011,[210] a retractable-roof stadium that hostsCanadian football as well as soccer.[211]
Of the three teams that made their MLS debuts in 2017 and 2018, one opened a soccer-specific stadium in 2019, a second is playing in a shared football stadium, and the last opened a soccer-specific stadium for its inaugural 2018 season. Minnesota United FC, which debuted in 2017, builtAllianz Field inSt. Paul which hosted its inaugural game against New York City FC on April 13, 2019.[212][213] Until that time, the team played inMinneapolis at TCF Bank Stadium (nowHuntington Bank Stadium), home toUniversity of Minnesotafootball.[214] Atlanta United FC began play in 2017 at a college football facility,Georgia Tech'sBobby Dodd Stadium, before moving into its permanent home at the retractable-roofMercedes-Benz Stadium, which it shares with the NFL'sAtlanta Falcons; the two teams share acommon owner and the stadium is equipped with screens to cordon off the upper tiers for most matches.[215] Los Angeles FC, which began play in 2018, opened Banc of California Stadium (nowBMO Stadium) on the former site of theLos Angeles Sports Arena in April of its inaugural season.[216]
Major League Soccer began to demonstrate positive signs of long-term profitability as early as 2004 with the single-entity ownership structure, salary cap, and the media and marketing umbrella Soccer United Marketing (SUM) all contributing towards MLS's financial security.[63] As soccer-specific stadiums are built, ownership expands, and television coverage increases, MLS has seen its revenues increase while controlling costs.[7]
Television coverage and revenue have increased since the league's early years. In 2006, MLS reached an 8-year TV deal withESPN spanning the 2007–2014 seasons, and marked the first time that MLS earned rights fees, reported to be worth $7–8 million annually.[222] In September 2012 the league extended its distribution agreement with London-based Media rights agency MP & Silva until 2014 in a deal worth $10 million annually. Total league TV revenues are over $40 million annually.[223][224] In 2011, MLS earned $150 million when it sold a 25% stake in SUM.[7]
In early 2005, MLS signed a 10-year, $150 million sponsorship deal withAdidas for its jerseys and other equipment.[63] In 2007, MLS teams started selling ad space on the front of jerseys to go along with the league-wide sponsorship partners who had already been advertising on the back of club jerseys, following the practice of international sport, specifically soccer. MLS established a floor of $500,000 per shirt sponsorship, with the league receiving a flat fee of $200,000 per deal.[254] As of July 2014, sixteen teams had signed sponsorship deals to have company logos placed on the front of their jerseys (and another team is directly owned by its shirt sponsor), and the league average from jersey sponsors was about $2.4 million.[255] Sleeve sponsorship was introduced to MLS in the 2020 season, with the teams able to sell a 2-by-2-inch (51 by 51 mm) section on the right arm where the league logo patch is normally positioned.[256]
The Los Angeles Galaxy made a profit in 2003 in their first season at The Home Depot Center,[62] and FC Dallas turned a profit after moving into Pizza Hut Park in 2005.[257] For each season between 2006 and 2009, two to three MLS clubs (generally clubs with a soccer-specific stadium) were reported as profitable by the league.[257][258][259] In November 2013,Forbes published a report that revealed that ten of the league's nineteen teams earned an operating profit in 2012, while two broke even and seven had a loss. Forbes estimated that the league's collective annual revenues were $494 million, and that the league's collective annual profit was $34 million. Forbes valued the league's franchises to be worth $103 million on average, almost three times as much as the $37 million average valuation in 2008. The Seattle Sounders FC franchise was named the most valuable at $175 million, a 483% gain over the $30 million league entrance fee it paid in 2009.[7]
The trend in increased team values has continued with MLS teams seeing a strong 52% increase in franchise values from 2012 to 2014. In August 2015Forbes updated its MLS franchise values with the most profitable team measuring $245 million and the least $105 million. The average value jumped from $103 to $157 million.[8] In 2018,Forbes estimated Atlanta United FC is the most valuable MLS team, worth $330 million, while the Colorado Rapids are the lowest value, at $155 million.[260] These valuations do not include the value of stadiums or training facilities owned by the respective clubs. ASportico ranking of club valuations in 2024 placed 20 MLS teams in the top 50 globally, withLos Angeles FC the most valuable at $1.15 billion (15th overall).[261]
Prior to theCOVID-19 pandemic, MLS teams typically used commercial flights to transport players and staff between matches, with only fourcharter flights allowed under league rules.[262] These commercial flights were often non-direct, requiring transfers and layovers, and contributed to long travel days.[263] The number of charters allowed for league matches was increased to eight legs prior to the 2020 season and lifted entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[264][265]Sun Country Airlines has provided charter service to MLS teams since 2020 and became the league's official carrier in 2022.[266]
When the league began play, it tried to gain popularity by "Americanizing" the game: the game clock counted down in each half and stopped for certain dead ball situations and games level at the end of regulation were resolved with a running penalty shootout.[267] Now MLS follows therules and standards of theInternational Football Association Board (IFAB).Since 2005, the playoff extra time structure follows IFAB standards: two full 15-minute periods, followed by apenalty shootout if necessary.
U.S. Soccer hired the first full-time professional referees in league history in 2007 as part of the league's "Game First" initiatives.[268]Major League Soccer has been implementing fines and suspensions since the 2011 season for simulation (diving) through its Disciplinary Committee, which reviews plays after the match. The first player fined under the new rule wasCharlie Davies, fined $1,000 for intentionally deceiving match officials.[269]
The current MLS logo debuted in 2014, ahead of the league's 20th season, replacing an earlier logo that featured a stylized boot and ball. The current logo is a simple crest with a diagonal stripe, the MLS wordmark, and three stars that represent "community, club, and country". The logo was designed to be remixed in different color schemes that match teams when used on merchandise and jerseys.[271]
The first MLS anthem was unveiled in 2007 and was composed byAudiobrain. The current league anthem debuted in 2020 and was composed by film score composerHans Zimmer. It will be used during league broadcasts and as a prelude to kickoff at stadiums.[272]
Since 2023, all MLS andLeagues Cup matches, as well as certain matches fromMLS Next Pro andMLS Next, are streamed worldwide onMLS Season Pass viaApple TV. This agreement ended the previous regional sports network-based system.[277] The contract allows for some broadcasts on linear television. ESPN and Univision exited negotiations, apparently because MLS would not allow them to stream via their own platforms or use their own commentators.[134][278] Following their departures, Fox Sports joined Apple as MLS's linear broadcast partners in the U.S., withBell Media'sTSN andRDS doing so in Canada.[279]
From 2012 to 2014, MLS matches were broadcast byNBC Sports, with 40 matches per year—primarily onNBCSN, and select matches broadcast on the NBC network.[280] The move fromFox Soccer to the more widely distributed NBCSN caused viewership numbers to double for the 2012 season.[281]
Soccer United Marketing partnered withGoogle and Bedrocket Media Ventures in 2012 to launch "KickTV", a premiumYouTube channel with original soccer programming.[282] KickTV was sold toCopa90 in 2015 to form its American branch.[283] In 2020, Soccer United Marketing signed a multi-year agreement withBleacher Report to produce content and highlights for MLS and the U.S. national teams through the 2022 season.[284]
From 2015 to 2022, MLS matches were broadcast nationally byESPN networks andFox Sports in English, andUnivision networks in Spanish under an eight-year contract. Each broadcaster had a window for national regular season matches, withUniMás airing a game on Friday nights in Spanish and additional matches onUnivision Deportes Network, andESPN andFox Sports 1 airing games on Sunday evenings in English. ESPN, FS1, and Univision shared coverage of the playoffs, while ABC and Fox alternated broadcasting the MLS Cup final in English. In total, at least 125 matches were aired per-season across all three networks. The three contracts have an average estimated value of $90 million per season—five times larger than the average $18 million value of the previous contracts with ESPN, Univision, andNBC Sports.[285][286][287]
Currently, English-language national MLS broadcast rights in Canada are held by theTSN networks through a five-year deal first renewed in 2017. The networks primarily broadcast matches involving the league's Canadian franchises, in combination with separate "regional" rights deals giving TSN exclusive rights to allToronto FC andVancouver Whitecaps FC matches.[289][290][291] A limited number of matches are also carried byCTV.[291]
TVA Sports holds exclusive French-language rights to MLS in Canada as of the 2017 season. As part of a separate "regional" rights deal, it also holds exclusive rights to allCF Montréal games.[291][292]
In 2018, online streaming serviceDAZN obtained Major League Soccer's digital out-of-market service MLS Live with live and on-demand streaming of matches featuring U.S. teams (matches with Canadian teams are only available after a 48-hour delay to protect the league's main rightsholders TSN and TVA Sports).[293]
MLS also entered into a four-year contract withSky Sports to broadcast two MLS matches per week in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 2015 to 2019.[294] As part of the agreement, Sky Sports broadcast at least two MLS regular-season matches each week, as well as the MLS All-Star Game, every MLS Cup Playoff game, and the MLS Cup final. The matches appeared across Sky's family of networks. It also carried weekly MLS highlights across various platforms, including Sky Sports News and SkySports.com. Sky Sports also broadcast at least one match from MLS's "Decision Day" – the final day of the MLS regular season. Many of the matches on Decision Day every year are expected to determine the final spots for the MLS Cup Playoffs.[295]
At the conclusion of each season, the league presents several awards for outstanding achievements, mostly to players, but also to coaches, referees, and teams. The finalists in each category are determined by voting from MLS players, team employees, and the media.[301]
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